SYNERGIES has been instrumental in the development of a new CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) “Guidelines for Disaster Risk Preparedness Solutions – Project tools, platforms and processes – Good practice recommendations”. Together with its sister project PARATUS, SYNERGIES initiated the Workshop process and worked with a broad group of European disaster risk, civil protection, resilience, research, practitioner and standardisation stakeholders.
A central aspect of the SYNERGIES sustainability strategy has been the integration of its outputs, tools and knowledge resources into the evolving Disaster Risk Stakeholder Hub (DRS Hub). This approach reflects an important shift away from isolated project platforms towards more connected and enduring preparedness ecosystems capable of supporting continued collaboration and visibility after individual projects conclude.
The CWA strongly reflects this type of thinking. One of its recurring themes is the importance of ensuring that preparedness solutions remain visible and accessible over time, including through stable repositories, maintained web environments and trusted third-party custodianship arrangements. These principles directly support approaches such as the DRS Hub, where multiple projects can contribute to a shared preparedness environment rather than maintaining disconnected standalone systems.
The guidance also highlights the importance of coherence between projects and initiatives. SYNERGIES has demonstrated how linking project outcomes through common structures, shared descriptors and collaborative governance arrangements can improve discoverability while reducing duplication across the European preparedness landscape.
Another major issue addressed within the CWA is institutional and community continuity. Sustainable preparedness depends not only on preserving technical outputs, but also on retaining the networks, expertise and stakeholder engagement mechanisms that give those outputs operational relevance. Embedding project solutions within a wider community-supported framework helps strengthen this continuity.
Finally, the Workshop guidance reinforces the value of adaptable and federated preparedness infrastructures. By contributing to a shared environment such as the DRS Hub, SYNERGIES supports a model where preparedness knowledge can continue evolving, connecting and being reused across future initiatives rather than remaining tied to a single funding cycle.
The SYNERGIES Tools that will benefit from the Guideline are:
- PrepCap System – Preparedness Capacity Development
helping disaster-risk managers to better target practical preparedness actions based on the social vulnerability analysis. - Atlas of Empowerment
a user-friendly platform that fosters active participation and empowerment in DRRM. - Tool for Early Warning Messaging
a tool designed to enhance crisis communication by transforming technical alerts into clear, audience-tailored messages. - The Knowledge Base for Innovative Channels and Communication (KB4ICC)
a web-based platform that collects, structures, and shares solutions, methods, and lessons learned on crisis communication and citizen preparedness. - SAVIT-catalogue
a catalogue/knowledge base of solutions enabling disaster risk management practitioners to anticipate and improve the integration of spontaneous volunteering in the management of disasters and - SAVIT-game
a tabletop (serious) game that uses a realistic disaster scenario to support participants’ exploration of issues related to spontaneous help from the population.
Through this contribution to this CWA, SYNERGIES is helping shape a more integrated and sustainable European preparedness ecosystem in which research outcomes remain available, connected and operationally relevant long after project completion.
